SYNOPSIS:
A group of friends think they find an easy score at an empty house with a safe full of cash. But when the owners, an elderly couple, come home early, the tables are suddenly turned.
There exists a home invasion sub-subgenre that, in my opinion, is the hardest of narrative sells: criminals become the victims. A film like
Villains maximizes the formula, pitting halfwit burglars against practicing, professional killers. We have to believe the switcheroo is achievable, and that seemingly “normal” targets can detain their unlucky houseguests. Julius Berg’s
The Owners dares suggest two elderly medical workers can outwit four rough-and-tumble teenagers, with success. To a degree of ridiculousness.